"Failing" at c25k, but not at running...
bendyourkneekatie
Posts: 696 Member
I notice that whenever anyone posts about getting into running, the advice is almost universally to do c25k. I'm sure it's great for may people but I can't be the only one who found it miserable and stopped doing it, but has managed to become a runner anyway?
After flunking out of c25k I just focussed on doing classes at the gym and building my cardio that way, until one day I just hopped on a treadmill to see how far I could get in half an hour. Sure enough it was 5km, and I've since gone on to marathons and the like.
Has anyone else done anything similar? Or, I guess, if anyone found c25k undoable and despairs of ever being a runner, my advice is: there are other ways!
After flunking out of c25k I just focussed on doing classes at the gym and building my cardio that way, until one day I just hopped on a treadmill to see how far I could get in half an hour. Sure enough it was 5km, and I've since gone on to marathons and the like.
Has anyone else done anything similar? Or, I guess, if anyone found c25k undoable and despairs of ever being a runner, my advice is: there are other ways!
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Replies
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Running is awesome!
I just finished C25K last week. It worked well for me and I'm glad you found something that worked well for you. Can't wait until I can run a marathon.1 -
Someone suggested C25K to me when I first started running more regularly at the beginning of December. He told me that if I did it, it would have me running for 1 km then walking for 30 and so on for 5 km, and then gradually building up. I'm not sure if that is actually the way it is done or whether that was just his impression.
Prior to running more regularly, I've been cycling a lot, climbing a multitude of stairs during my day at work, and doing a lot of walking. Just a few weekends earlier, I'd comfortably done a 12 km hike in just over 2 hours including stopping to take photos. 2 or 3 times a week I cover 5-6 km in my lunch break brisk walking.
And about once a month, I'd hop on the treadmill and run for 10 minutes, walk for 5 min, run for 15 minutes, walk for 5, etc. for an hour.
Then one day at the beginning of December, I ran for a full 45 minutes on the treadmill and it was OK. So I figured I'd take it outside. Outside is a little more challenging, but the following weekend, I ran 5 km. It was at that point my acquaintance suggested doing the C25K. Um ...
So I don't know whether I would have "failed" the C25K or whether I did an accelerated version of it ... ???
But for me, I had gotten into shape in other ways, and then figured I'd give running a go ... and it seems all right.3 -
I think it depends on your level of cardio fitness. If you're sedentary then C25K is probably a good idea.
If you have a level of fitness already then you'll probably be ok with just starting to run... I had just finished insanity when I started running, I just went out one day and did a route I knew was 2 miles. Thought I was going to die :laugh: and was hooked!3 -
I found C25k really really really didn't work for me. I just felt constantly like I was going to die, even several weeks into it! I mentioned it to my sister who came out for a run with me and noticed I breathe really shallowly. I then changed my running technique to slowing right down, ignoring my legs/speed/pace etc and concentrating only on my breathing (making sure I got a good lungful of air in and then breathing it all back out again). Turns out that, for me, the constant stopping and starting between running and walking was the complete opposite to what I needed - by slowing riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight down and making sure I kept running until my lungs stopped feeling like they were going to explode (about 1.5km normally) I found that I could actually run after all! And once I'd passed that point in a run, I could easily do the stop-start run-walk method used in C25K.
ETA: correct spelling3 -
It isn't for everyone. It all depends on your level of fitness when you begin and how you are put together. It is always best to start with short distances at an easy pace and mixing in walk breaks if needed. When people ask on a forum like this, no one knows the posters level of fitness and orthopedic issues. C25K is a pretty safe answer. It was designed for people who have been doing nothing. Any program can and should be modified to suit the person applying it. That is, essentially, what you did.0
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There are other ways, but safety and avoiding injury when starting out too much too soon as it is easy do.
I personally did not use C25k and had zero running ability and actually zero interest at the time to become a runner, it just happened. I started strength training and walking during weight loss and very slowly over months added some light run/walk intervals into the mix to doing short runs and now I train for 1/2 marathons 4 years later.
That said, I have reviewed the C25k running plan and if you are truly coming off the couch or next to nothing in regards to having built any fitness level, its a good plan to follow as we here in the community can advise a safe method for a newbie to build and progress. They don't have to follow this particular plan, but maybe a plan in general. Everyone has their starting point, a really good friend of mine finished the C25k plan but is still struggling. They need a step by step plan to follow, has even gone gone back to repeat weeks, keep in mind there are variables in place that is keeping from making progress and perhaps after another round of repeats, this plan is either not suited for them or there is a lack of desire to progress.1 -
just a thought - reading the responses and most people have done some version of c25k - ie. a run/walk programme to get themselves started running.
so yes, whilst the c25k may not be the programme for everyone, the basic principle behind it is a very good one.
@lolliopopsnrainbows I don't think you can actually say c25k didn't work for you. What DIDN'T work for you was running too fast. And anyone who starts running should be given the same advice - slow it down, keep it so you can have a conversation. You can't 'blame' c25k for your breathing issues.
No one ever said c25k was the be-all and end-all for learning to run, but most people would advocate starting gently, probably with a run/walk strategy, to gradually build their aerobic endurance. Yes, there are other ways to build aerobic endurance, but most people are au fait with walking, and increasing that now and then to a run is a straightforward strategy to suggest.1 -
C25K wouldn't have worked for me at all - I've never had a comfortable slow running pace my entire life. Walk, run briskly or sprint were my only options. Never had a jogging pace. For me at least if I can talk then I'm not running fast enough.
When I ran 5k's (for social and personal challenge reasons) I simply trained with walking/brisk run intervals at my natural pace and steadily reduced the walking intervals until I ran the whole 5k when my fitness level matched my natural speed. Think my first 5k was about 28 minutes? Couldn't imagine running any slower and feeling I had a comfortable running gait.
My one and only 10k I simply jumped straight from running 5k to 10k. Unlike you I hated it so much I never bothered again!
Funny enough I love far longer duration cardio on a bicycle, it's not the cardio in distance running I dislike. Sprinting or running as part of a sport = fun.
Running just to run = boredom or misery depending on my fitness level.
It's why I think people should try everything, enjoyment of exercise is very personal.3 -
lolliopopsnrainbows wrote: »I found C25k really really really didn't work for me. I just felt constantly like I was going to die, even several weeks into it! I mentioned it to my sister who came out for a run with me and noticed I breathe really shallowly. I then changed my running technique to slowing right down, ignoring my legs/speed/pace etc and concentrating only on my breathing (making sure I got a good lungful of air in and then breathing it all back out again). Turns out that, for me, the constant stopping and starting between running and walking was the complete opposite to what I needed - by slowing riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight down and making sure I kept running until my lungs stopped feeling like they were going to explode (about 1.5km normally) I found that I could actually run after all! And once I'd passed that point in a run, I could easily do the stop-start run-walk method used in C25K.
ETA: correct spelling
I have had exactly this issue I tried and stopped C25K so many times. Now getting on much better with real improvement results by working on breath control and laughing off the C25k intervals etc.0 -
Funny enough I love far longer duration cardio on a bicycle, it's not the cardio in distance running I dislike. Sprinting or running as part of a sport = fun.
Running just to run = boredom or misery depending on my fitness level.
It's why I think people should try everything, enjoyment of exercise is very personal.
I have to say ... the running I'm doing now is making me LOVE my bicycle.
But I'm hoping to accomplish something with all this running, so I'll keep it up through January.
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I was given a book by a friend that was more helpful than what I've read on the C25K site. In it, she talks about the 1 minute walk. Run ... and if you need a rest, take 1 minute and walk ... then get running again. She also talks about finishing the run running not walking. So if you need another 1 minute walk, take it out of sight of the finish line so you can run to the finish line.
Those ideas worked better for me.
But everyone is different.0 -
Funny enough I love far longer duration cardio on a bicycle, it's not the cardio in distance running I dislike. Sprinting or running as part of a sport = fun.
Running just to run = boredom or misery depending on my fitness level.
It's why I think people should try everything, enjoyment of exercise is very personal.
I have to say ... the running I'm doing now is making me LOVE my bicycle.
But I'm hoping to accomplish something with all this running, so I'll keep it up through January.
I'm considering taking up squash again (a last hurrah before it's too late!) which will mean I will do some running just to be better at squash. Will incorporate a little fartlek training for speed and no great distance or duration as I have good CV fitness already.0 -
bendyourkneekatie wrote: »I notice that whenever anyone posts about getting into running, the advice is almost universally to do c25k. I'm sure it's great for may people but I can't be the only one who found it miserable and stopped doing it, but has managed to become a runner anyway?
Generally if someone is wanting to start to run there are two approaches; a structured run/ walk strategy, or going out and running for as long as one can maintain. The latter pretty much turns into an unstructured run/ walk strategy as people aren't really able to judge how far that's going to be.
Couch to 5K is just a canned run/ walk plan, there seems little point in designing a new one for everyone that expresses an interest.
What I would say is that adherence to running training is reasonably low, and generally for one of two reasons; people either can't see progress, or they get injured. The use of C25K helps mitigate the risk of the latter quite a bit. By forcing the run/ walk approach people can get a decent length of session in, but progressively building their ability to run for protracted periods. It fairly well avoids the drive to go out and do too much, too soon, which is the most likely cause of an overuse injury.
What C25K doesn't do is manage the pace question. In the support forum that's generally what people struggle with. There is a belief that running involves going flat out, rather than. When I was active in that forum almost every post I made was along the lines of "slow down, it's about running continuously, speed will come later". That said, having the structure helps to manage the pace. It becomes about running for 5 minutes, 8 minutes, 12 minutes, rather than "running at a speed you can maintain for an unknown period of time".
As with any tool it's about using it in an appropriate way. Run/ Walk has a lot of benefits, and if that's the classic C25K or a Galloway approach then it doesn't really matter.
In terms of advising on this site, with no knowledge of the baseline recommending C25K is generally a fairly safe approach. It's well designed, and if people are going to struggle then it's most likely because they're running too fast, so using the canned plan reduces the variables.
As far as recommendations on here are concerned I'd generally more object to the constant refrain of gait analysis, and uphill gradients on a treadmill.
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I tried C25k a few times and just couldn't do it. I don't know what it was.
Then one year I decided I wanted to participate in a 3.5mi race with a bunch of coworkers and I found my motivation. I didn't go back to C25k, just started running and gradually increasing my mileage.
It's all history from there.0 -
One thing I loved about C25k is that the progress was really obvious and pretty much continuous. That was so encouraging to me, since I had always thought that running wasn't something I could do. I had previously done some short term attempts to run, mostly just incorporating short fartleks into my walks, but without the discipline of a plan it never went very far. Once I had completed the program, I knew I could run, so challenged myself to training for a half marathon. It was a bigger leap for me to go from zero to 5k than it was to go to from 3 to 13 miles. I no longer had the obstacle of my own self-doubts.
Sijomial - one reason you hated the running when you increased the distance is simply that you pushed yourself too hard for too long. When you slow down to a comfortable pace, you can go a lot farther without exhaustion. It's a lot like hiking. I can hike all day because I take it slow and easy. Learning how to run so I could go out for hours was only possible by learning to slow down. I still run my easy and long runs too fast, but I can happily maintain the pace for 2 -3 hours with no problem recovering to run again the next day, so I'm happy.1 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »One thing I loved about C25k is that the progress was really obvious and pretty much continuous. That was so encouraging to me, since I had always thought that running wasn't something I could do. I had previously done some short term attempts to run, mostly just incorporating short fartleks into my walks, but without the discipline of a plan it never went very far. Once I had completed the program, I knew I could run, so challenged myself to training for a half marathon. It was a bigger leap for me to go from zero to 5k than it was to go to from 3 to 13 miles. I no longer had the obstacle of my own self-doubts.
Sijomial - one reason you hated the running when you increased the distance is simply that you pushed yourself too hard for too long. When you slow down to a comfortable pace, you can go a lot farther without exhaustion. It's a lot like hiking. I can hike all day because I take it slow and easy. Learning how to run so I could go out for hours was only possible by learning to slow down. I still run my easy and long runs too fast, but I can happily maintain the pace for 2 -3 hours with no problem recovering to run again the next day, so I'm happy.
Ditto. I've done various plans before, and stopping before I had to, and slowing down my pace a little were exactly what was needed. I ran a couple miles last night, and didn't hate it(except for the fact that it was 28 degrees). And it's definitely in large part due to C25K and the enforced rests.1 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »One thing I loved about C25k is that the progress was really obvious and pretty much continuous. That was so encouraging to me, since I had always thought that running wasn't something I could do. I had previously done some short term attempts to run, mostly just incorporating short fartleks into my walks, but without the discipline of a plan it never went very far. Once I had completed the program, I knew I could run, so challenged myself to training for a half marathon. It was a bigger leap for me to go from zero to 5k than it was to go to from 3 to 13 miles. I no longer had the obstacle of my own self-doubts.
Sijomial - one reason you hated the running when you increased the distance is simply that you pushed yourself too hard for too long. When you slow down to a comfortable pace, you can go a lot farther without exhaustion. It's a lot like hiking. I can hike all day because I take it slow and easy. Learning how to run so I could go out for hours was only possible by learning to slow down. I still run my easy and long runs too fast, but I can happily maintain the pace for 2 -3 hours with no problem recovering to run again the next day, so I'm happy.
@spiriteagle99
Nope - read my post again.
Irrespective of fitness levels I simply don't have a slow and comfortable running pace. I'm 57 so think I would have found it by now!
It's not a fitness or endurance issue, my longest cardio event last year was a 9 hour cycle ride.0 -
Irrespective of fitness levels I simply don't have a slow and comfortable running pace.
That's quite common in most of the endurance runners I know. Everyone struggles to find a slow pace initially, and it's only when you're more comfortable with running that a slow pace becomes what felt originally like a fast pace. My easy pace is about 9:30/ mile.
In some ways it's similar to the speed you'd cycle at for base volume. It feels a bit ridiculous to maintain 80ish rpm at a slow speed.
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I tried C25K at first but could not get over the time count down for some reason. It played mind games with me, so I created my own version. I call it bob25k.
i just kept running further instead of going by time, and now I can run 5 miles...:)3 -
OldAssDude wrote: »I tried C25K at first but could not get over the time count down for some reason. It played mind games with me, so I created my own version. I call it bob25k.
i just kept running further instead of going by time, and now I can run 5 miles...:)
There are some c25k apps that have an option to train distance rather than time for that very reason. Although if it's the countdown itself that throws you, then I guess a distance countdown would be just as bad as a timed one.
I found c25k a good basic resource when I started exercising. Even if you feel like the program is too slow for your aerobic capacity, it forces people to give time for their body to strengthen up enough to avoid injuring themselves. This is especially necessary for people who are literally coming from the couch rather than people who already have a 10k step day walking habit or have been doing other forms of exercise. That being said, it's never going to suit everyone.1 -
I am in week 4 of C210K and I do understand what a few people have said about the walking rests and feeling like you are going to die. There have been several times that I have struggled with the first couple minutes, and then found my stride and then bang, have to walk again and do it all over. I don't think this program is the best for that, however, if you are like me and tend to get all jacked up about a new activity, get out there and go like a madwoman and then can't walk for three days then it is a great way to force yourself to take it slow and gradually increase mileage and not get hurt, so I am still team C210K. 4
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I was a runner and then took some time off and did C25k for a week but didn't like structure of it decided to run whatever I wanted and enjoyed running much more.2
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I never did C25K so I'm not sure what it consists of. I just kinda worked my way up to it with my own sort of training. Adding distance / speed after I felt like I'd gained the stamina to do so.1
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Thirty years ago I took up running and did whatever felt good. I regularly ran 5K races at pretty respectable times. Although in pretty good shape this summer, at age 57 I started running again but used the Couch to 5K program. It was very helpful in that I was able to increase my stamina and speed without getting some kind of old lady beginning runner injury. I wouldn’t need that approach when younger, but was glad to find it this time around.2
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